Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra (1745–1813), born in Estadilla

Estadilla

Estadilla is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 856 inhabitants....

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, was a Benedictine monk and the first historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 to extensively document Puerto Rico's history

History of Puerto Rico

The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the archipelago of Puerto Rico by the Ortoiroid people between 3000 and 2000 BC. Other tribes, such as the Saladoid and Arawak Indians, populated the island between 430 BC and 1000 AD. At the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New...

, nationality and culture

Culture of Puerto Rico

The culture of Puerto Rico is the result of a number of international and indigenous influences, both past and present. Modern cultural manifestations showcase the island's rich history and help to create an identity which is a melting pot of cultures - Taíno , Spanish, African, Other Europeans,...

.

Abbad arrived in Puerto Rico in 1771 at age 26 as confessor

Confessor

-Confessor of the Faith:Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared...

 and personal secretary of the bishop of the diocese of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, Manuel Jiménez Pérez. From 1772 to 1778, as part of his ecclesiastic duties, he visited many towns throughout the island. Also at that time, while accompanying Jiménez Pérez, he visited Cumaná

Cumaná

Cumaná is the capital of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located 402 km east of Caracas. It was the first settlement founded by Europeans in the mainland America, in 1501 by Franciscan friars, but due to successful attacks by the indigenous people, it had to be refounded several times...

, Isla Margarita

Isla Margarita

Margarita Island is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands: Coche and Cubagua. The capital city of Nueva Esparta is La Asunción, located in a river...

, New Barcelona

New Barcelona

New Barcelona was the name of a settlement of Catalan-Austrian exiles that existed between 1735 and 1738, created after his defeat in the War of Succession and located in the Banat of Temesvár, the current town of Zrenjanin, in the Serbian Vojvodina...

, the Orinoco River

Orinoco

The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...

, Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

, and Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

. During these travels he kept a diary named Viage a la América (Voyage to America). The book was published as a facsimile

Facsimile

A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale,...

 in 1974 at Caracas

Caracas

Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

 by Banco Nacional de Ahorro y Préstamo (National Loan and Savings Bank).

While living in Puerto Rico he observed and recorded every day Puerto Rican life. In 1788, ten years after leaving Puerto Rico, he published the first comprehensive history of Puerto Rico titled Historia geográfica, civil y natural de la isla de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico (Geographic, civil and natural history of the island of Saint John the Baptist of Puerto Rico). In his book he described, in detail, a wide array of aspects of Puerto Rican life. Among the topics discussed are San Juan's

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

 fortifications and defenses, Taíno

Taíno people

The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...

 customs, and Puerto Rican history, society, clothing, flora, fauna

Fauna of Puerto Rico

The fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago faunas, with high endemism, and low, skewed taxonomic diversity. Bats are the only extant native terrestrial mammals in Puerto Rico. All other terrestrial mammals in the area were introduced by humans, and include species such as cats,...

, socio-economic peculiarities, and personality. He also proposes several reforms such as free commerce and the promotion of agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 and other industries. Even though Abbad's book is the most complete historical account of Puerto Rico from 1493 to 1783, many of the historical accounts presented were obtained from second-hand sources.

The earliest known reference to the güiro

Güiro

The güiro is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role...

, an instrument used in traditional Puerto Rican music

Music of Puerto Rico

The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Taíno Indians, France, and the United States, and has become very popular across the Caribbean and across the globe...

, is in his writings. He described the güiro as one of several instruments that were used to accompany dancers. The other instruments would typically include maracas, tambourine, and one or more guitars.

In 1785, Abbad wrote Relación de la Florida (Florida Relation), an account of the Spanish presence in the Florida peninsula beginning with its discovery by Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...

up to the establishment of French and British colonies.